Background Handedness in plants introduced by helical growth of organs is frequently observed, and it has fascinated plant scientists for decades. However, the genetic control of natural handedness has not been revealed. In the model legume Medicago truncatula, pods can be coiled in a clockwise or anti-clockwise manner, providing a model for genetic analysis of plant handedness. Objective We aimed to localize the Sense of Pod Coiling (SPC) gene controlling pod coiling direction in M. truncatula. Methods Linkage analysis was used with a biparental population for fine mapping of the SPC gene. The genome sequence of M. truncatula Mt4.0 was used for marker identification and physical mapping. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) between the parental lines were converted to CAPS (cleaved amplified polymorphic sequences) markers. Genetic map was constructed using the software JoinMap version 3.0. Gene predication and annotation provided by the M. truncatula genome database (http//www.medicagogenome.org) was confirmed with the programs of FGENESH and Pfam 32.0, respectively. Quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to analyze the relative expression levels of candidate genes. Results The genetic analysis indicated that the anti-clockwise coiling is dominant to clockwise and is controlled by the single gene, SPC. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/salinosporamide-a-npi-0052-marizomib.html The SPC gene was delimited to a 250 kb-region on Chromosome 7. Total of 15 protein-coding genes were identified in the SPC locus through gene annotation and sequence analysis. Of those, two genes, potentially encoding a receptor-like kinase and a vacuolar cation/proton exchanger respectively, were selected as candidates for the SPC gene. Conclusions The result presented here lay a foundation for gene cloning of SPC, which will help us to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying helical growth in plant organs.Background Viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS) is a serious viral disease that infects the olive flounder in South Korea. The Korean aquaculture industry experienced an economic loss caused by the high infectivity and mortality. Objective This study aimed to evaluate the infection density of VHSV in various organs of the olive flounder including spleen, liver, kidney, stomach, esophagus, intestine, gill, muscle, heart, and brain. Olive flounders were collected from a local fish farm and injected subcutaneously with 106 PFU/fish. Methods Each 15 fish were sampled at 0, 3, and 7 days post challenge (dpc), respectively, to perform quantitative analysis of VHSV using SYBR-green based real-time PCR in various tissues including spleen, liver, head-kidney, body-kidney, muscle, esophagus, stomach, intestine, gill, and brain. Results Organs infected with VHSV were obtained after 3 and 7 days. Each organs were examined for viral infection using real-time PCR. The data obtained from this experiment revealed copy numbers higher than 10 copies per 100 ng cDNA in the spleen (15.26 ± 3.11 copies/100 ng of cDNA), muscle (11.24 ± 2.25 copies), and gill (14.23 ± 6.26 copies), but lower in liver, head-kidney, body-kidney, esophagus, brain and stomach. Conclusion The present study, together with previous data, demonstrated that the gill, spleen, and muscle are the major target organs of VHSV in olive flounder. Therefore, central monitoring of spleen, gill and muscle should be considered and might be necessary if anti-VHSV treatment is to be successful in infected olive flounder.Background Brachymystax lenok tsinlingensis is an endemic freshwater fish in Northeast Asia, but experienced a dramatic population decline due to over-exploitation, deteriorated habitats and global climate change. It has been listed as a threatened or endangered species in South Korea and China, respectively. However, the conservation and restoration work in wild B. lenok tsinlingensis populations require large amount of genetic and molecular data to support effective management of genetic resources, while the corresponding information is very limited. Objective This study was conducted to generate transcriptome assembly and annotation, as well as to develop novel microsatellite markers for B. lenok tsinlingensis. Methods We collected gill and liver tissues and performed transcriptome sequencing. Then the first transcriptome for B. lenok tsinlingensis was de novo assembled and annotated. Microsatellite markers were searched in the assembled transcripts and characterized within ninety individuals collected from three natural sites. Results A total of 110,712 protein-coding transcripts were assembled, of which 82,861 transcripts were successfully annotated. This assembly displayed a high level of completeness with retrieving 94% of the single-copy orthologs conserved across vertebrate species. Furthermore, 75,891 microsatellite loci were identified from this transcriptome assembly and 20 polymorphic markers were randomly selected for characterization. Conclusions The microsatellite markers and the first transcriptome assembly would provide valuable resources for investigating genetic diversity and phylogeographic structure of wild populations and molecular mechanisms responding to stressful environments (e.g. increased water temperature) to guide future conservation studies and breeding programs.Purpose The objective is to determine the prevalence of levator ani muscle (LAM) avulsion using four-dimensional ultrasound in primiparous women after vaginal delivery and according to delivery mode. Methods This prospective, multicenter study included 322 women evaluated at 6-12 months postpartum by four-dimensional transperineal ultrasound to identify levator ani muscle avulsion. The researcher who performed the ultrasound was blinded to all clinical data. Meaningful data about the birth were also recorded mode of delivery, mother's age and body mass index, duration of second stage, episiotomy, perineal tearing, anesthesia, assistant, head circumference and fetal weight. Results 303 volumes were valid for evaluation. The overall prevalence of levator ani muscle avulsion was 18.8% (95% CI 14.4-23.2%). In our multivariate analysis, only mode of delivery reached statistical significance as a risk factor for levator ani muscle avulsion (p less then 0.001). The prevalence according to the different modes of delivery was 7.